AS 90913: Tracey Tawhiao Subversion - Blog Post 3

Subversion through recolonising? 

Sofia Minson -  listen, read the transcript and/or close captions, take notes, link the video.

- Sofia Minson's artworks are about myths, legends, and cosmology.

- She combines different cultures in her artwork.

- Her artworks are named after gods and goddesses such as Queen of Raa and Mother Mary.

- She wants people in her portrait to be seen as ancestors and deities speaking to the viewers.

Locate one artwork -Quick thumbnail label everything. 

                                Reference

Describe the artwork?

This artwork shows a waka(canoe) resting upon an empty shore. It has a gloomy background with a light shining in the middle.  

Does Minson's work show subversion? If so how? If not, why?

Minson's work does show subversion. This is shown through the message behind the artwork. According to its description, this artwork is about a lonely waka resting upon the shores of Aotearoa after a long journey. Minson is trying to bring the fact that Kupe and the Matahorua's crew's presence should be felt after they've abandoned their waka to explore a new land. If they didn't discover it in the first place, they wouldn't be able to come upon the unidentified place - referring to the discovery of New Zealand.

How does she use what exists already to 4 ideas?

"It's mainly the myths, the legends, the cosmology, of—that I get from my Maori Culture that really comes through. Then I sort of find links with Hinduism and Christianity and with Egyptian mythology and sort of love—you know, combining all those different cultures." -Sofia Minson(Interview)

- My understanding from this is that the things she uses that already exist (different cultures) help her create ideas for her artworks by combining and finding links in between them.  

What differences can you list between Minson and Tawhiao's work?

- Tawhiao uses text and Minson doesn't.

- Tawhiao uses grids to separate her work whereas Minson uses objects or patterns.

- Minson uses multiple cultures in her work, but Tawhiao only focuses on one (Maori culture).

- Tawhiao's work is mostly patterns. Unlike Tawhiao, Minson's work is about animals, nature, and landscape.

- Minson uses canvas for her artwork, but Tawhiao uses newspaper.

ESOL Reflection

In the past few weeks, we have been reading a book called "The River" by Gary Paulsen. The river is about a boy who spent 54 days surviving alone in the Canadian wilderness. A few years later, he was hired by a group of men to live in the woods again, so they can learn some survival techniques from him. There was another book before this story, but we didn't have the time to read. Instead, the teacher just read us a summary. 

What I like about this book is the fact that it teaches you some survival things such as making a fire using a flint and a hatchet. There's nothing I don't like about the story, but I quite find it boring sometimes. In the past few lessons, we have also been learning about the essay structure. I haven't really learned new things from it since I've already learnt it before. In the end, I would like to make a game to share my knowledge. 

Desperado

What is the song about? 

I think this song is about a desperado. A desperado is a desperate person who has been running away because of the things that they've done. In a nutshell, the song talks about how a desperado needs someone to love them before it's too late. 

"You better let somebody love you

(Let somebody love you)
You better let somebody love you
Before it's too late"

Wananga Reflection

To be perfectly honest, this week has been the most stressful week ever. I had to study for the maths internal and the end-of-chapter review test for science. Now that it's done, I feel calm but worried at the same time because I don't know if I've done well. The only internals that I have left now is the creative writing for English. I'm kinda struggling with it since I've run out of ideas to write down. I can still do it though even if it's hard. 

Yesterday was Athletics day. I had to wear yellow for my Kahui which was Mohua. The events that I did were long jump, shot put, and 60m run. I've also played some games with my friends during the free time we had. 

AS 90913: Tracey Tawhiao Subversion - Blog Post 2

1. Wide reading approach: Subversion as a compositional framework.

Tracey Tawhio - Draw a thumbnail sketch and label everything - one artwork

2. Record: What can you categorize the objects she uses as, and why?

The objects Tracey Tawhiao used in her artwork are a fish, double koru, rectangles, triangles, wavy lines, and one of the drawings of the Maori cave art. 

Fish - represents the economy

Double koru - represents two lives growing together(Maori & Pakeha)

I think the rectangles represent fields of land that they owned but were taken away/

Triangles - represents Maunga/mountains

Wavy lines - represents water/sea

Maori cave art - represents the Maori culture 

Altogether, these symbols represent what was lost from the Maori after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. One is land(represented by rectangles & triangles). The majority of New Zealand was covered by Maori land holdings when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840. Within a century, it had been reduced to a few isolated patches of land, mostly in North Island's central region. Their land was either confiscated or purchased by the government or in private. Because of this, comes a loss of the economy—meaning waterways and food sources(represented by fish & wavy lines). Another result of land loss is the lost access to culturally significant sites such as burial grounds and pa(represented by the Maori cave art). 

Double koru is also one of the symbols used in the artwork. Although, mostly all of the symbols represent what was lost due to the result of the agreement. I believe this was added to represent one of the consequences of signing the treaty—two cultures growing/living together. 

3. Record: Talk about space in her work-what do you notice?

She separates her work by following the grid in the newspaper. She also left some space to show texts that she wants to convey to the viewer. In this case, the texts of "It's what they didn't say that told the story"(the misunderstanding of the written agreement)  and "ownership"(land theft) — referring to the aftermath of the Treaty of Waitangi. 

4. Record: Talk about colour in her work-what can you describe?

- The colours she used in her work are monochromatic green as well as blue and grey. The colour blue and green is used to represent the nature/environment.